Car tripper



E. G. MORGAN Oct. 25, 1932.

CAR TRIPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 27. 1930 1. a I a O 0 M T 0 m n Ma w m 3 3 Q Q Q 3 NM Patented Oct. 25,1932 1 UNITED [STATES PATENTOFFIfiE' I EARLF. G. MORGAN, F ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY,A SS1GNOR '10m'rnnsrnrn EQUIPMENT CORPORATION, or NEW YORK, N. Y., A conrone'rron orNEW YORK CAR TRIPPER Application, filed May 27, 1930. Serial no.456,092.

This inventionrelates to aerial tramways and more particularly to aerialtramway buckets, and aerial tramway systems for dumping along the lineof travel of the buckets. The usual procedure in aerial tramways usingcontinuous carriers for disposal purposes has been to employ a trippingdevice suspended from the track cables, these tripping devices beingcumbersome, unwieldy and not readilymovable.

I -The present invention has for one of its' objects the provision of animproved trip ping mechanism as-part of the bucket structure fortripping the locking latches onsuch buckets automatically after thebucket or buckets have passed some predetermined point in their line oftravel, thus dispensing with the use of the usual release devicesheretofore employed. 1 w

Another object of the present-invention is to provide an improvedtripping mechanism whichmay be trippedat any desired point along thelength of the tramway selected by the operator by a simple adjustment ofthe tripping mechanism on the bucket framework while thebucketsare atany convenient position along the length of'the tramway;

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedtripping mechanism having the novel design, construction,and'combination of parts hereinafter described and illustrated in'theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation showing oneform of the present invention as applied to one type of tramway bucketwith a door, the bucket being illustrated in position before it reachesa means for actuating the tripper;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the bucket at the point where anactuating means,.in this case consisting of a. shoe, is actuating thetripper;

' Fig 3 is a similar view showing the release of the latch of the bucketby the tripper mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same bucket, being illustrated inposition before reaching the actuatingimechanism; v

. Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of the spring fluid trippermechanism, and i j Fig. 6 is'a plan view partly in section showing thetrippermechanism.

Referringmore particularly to the drawings, the vnumeral13 designatesthe aerial tramway track cable on which the bucket 10 isadapted to bepropelled by a traction .or

haulage rope 13A, which rope is secured by a grip 1313 to the bucket 10.

The bucket 10 comprises a wheeled carriage 12,. a pair of bucketsupporting hangers 11 being suspended from thewheeled carriage 12. andrigidly. supporting a bucket body having an inclined bottom and-a hingedfront door 14 adapted to-be swung outwardly by the weight of the load inthe bucket, when the load is discharged. The front door 14 is normallylocked in closed position by a longitudinally movable spring urgedkeeper 15 mountedon'the door for movement therewith. I The keeperengages an apertured latch block 16 mounted on the lower edge of thebucket.

. ,In order to provide means for releasing the latch 15 use is made ofan actuating cable 17 whichiis connected at one'end to said latch, andwhich. cable is trained over a guide 18 mounted on theupper portion ofthe bucket 10. 1A, device .19, suchas, adoor closer or its equivalent,formsa part of the release means, and said device includes asubstantially T- shaped casing 20which defines a dashpot cylinder 20aWithin which a piston or plunger 20?) is mounted for recip'rocatorymovement,

the piston or plunger having spaced heads 200, each of which is providedwith a port 2003 controlled by a check valve 206, the said check valvesfunctioning to open upon upward'movement in the direction of the arrowin Figure 5 and to close upon downward or reverse movement. The plungeror piston 20?) is provided with rack .teeth 20f which mesh with theteeth of a pinion 20g on a rotary shaft 21 which extends through theboss 21a of the casing, said boss also housing a spiral. spring 21?)which is. anchored at one extremity to the boss 21a of the housing or totheshaft 21, said spring .21?) being so ar- IOU with an incompressiblefluid which freelyv passes through the piston or plunger head ports 20dwhen the piston or plunger moves upwardly in the direction of the arrowin Figure 5. A ratchet sleeve 22 is secured to said shaft for turningmovement therewith and a radial arm 23 is secured to the ratchet sleeve.The cable 17 is eccentrically' secured at the point 33 to a dog plate2upon which pivoted dogs 25 are mounted. The dogs 25 are normally urgedinwardly toward the ratchet of the sleeve 22 by an encircling spring 27.The dog plate assembly further includes an inner securing plate 28, thedogs being mounted between the inner plate and the outer plate 24:. Thesleeve 22 is formed with ratchet teeth 29 disposed between the plates 28and 24, the plates being retained on the sleeve 22 by virtue of theirengagement with the opposite sides of the extending ratchet teeth. Theeccentric point of connection 33 of the cable 17 with the dog plate 24is normally disposed at bottom dead center when the latch 15 isprojected by its spring to active latching position.

' In the operation of the device, the bucket loaded and with the doorlatched, is moved over the cable 13 until it reaches the actuatingmechanism indicated in Fig. 2 by the numeral 31. This actuatingmechanism consists of a shoe 31 supported either by a member 30 whichsupports the tramway track cable 13 or an independent stationarysupport. The arm 23 of the latch controlling mechanism includesaninwardly turned end or a roller 32 which is engageable with the shoe31 whereby movement, as in theright direction in Fig. 2, will movedownwardly the arm 23 thus turning it with the sleeve 22 and shaft 21 incoun- (er-clockwise direction without turning the dog plate 24 which isheld against movement by the cable 17, while the ratchet teeth 29 freelyratchet past the dogs 25. The counterclockwise turning of the shaft 21as viewed in Figure 4 places said shaft under the tension of the spring21?) and when the roller 32 of the arm 23 passes from under the shoe 31,the spring 216 exerts a force on the shaft to turn the same in aclockwise direction. This turning movement under the tension of thespring is retarded by the dashpot plunger or piston 20?), due to thefact that the return or down ward movement of the plunger or piston 206,as shown in Figure 4:, effects the closing of the check valves 20c andthe fluid in the dashpot can only circulate at a predetermined speedthrough the by-pass 20h as regulated bythe adjustable by-pass valves20j. It willthus be seen that the speed of the return movement may beregulated by the adjustable by-pass valve. During the return clockwisemovement of the sleeves 22, the dogs 25 will be engaged by the ratchetteeth 29, thereby turnin g the dog plate 24 in a clockwise direction toexert an upward pull on the cable 17 for effecting the release of thelatch mechanism immediately prior to the point of connection 33 reachingthe upward limit of its movement. \Vhen the latch 15 is released, theweight of the load within the bucket 10 will force the door 14 outwardlyto an open position so that the material will be gravitationallydischarged, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 3. After the release ofthe latch, the shaft 21 will continue its clockwise movement until thepoint of connection 33 passes slightly beyond upper dead center,whereupon the latch 15A will exert a downward pull on the v cable 17.,causing the dog plate 24 to be re-, turned to its normal position withthe point Qfconnection 33 at its lower dead center po-. sition whilepermitting the return slam of the door 14 to re-engage the latch 15 inthe latch block 16, thereby locking the door in closed position inreadiness for subsequent reloading.

By the present construction it will be seen that the time consumed bythe retarded clockwise movement of the sleeve to a position to releasethe latch may be easily adjusted by set ting the venting valve of thedash pot or by controlling the tension of the spring fluid assembly;thus the arrangement provides for the actuation of the tripper mechanismat varying distances beyond the shoe 31 to the discharge of materialfrom the bucket 10 at any desired point. The utility of such anarrangement will he obviously seen when it is considered that in mostinstances it is desired to discharge the material from several bucketscontinuously following each other at pre: determined points in a spanbetween structures supporting the track cable which ordi narily can onlybe accomplished by posi tioning of a trip mechanism approximately at thepoint of dumping. By the present invention the tripping mechanismactuating shoe may be mounted directly on any supportin gstructure,while variation in the point of discharge may be made by an adjustmentof the venting valve of each bucket device.

Itwill be understood that the present in vention is not specificallyconfined to the tramway system and type of tramway bucket details hereinpresented, but that numerous changes, modifications, and the full use ofequivalents may be resorted to without departing from the spirit orscope of the present invention as outlined in the appended claims.

I claim: I 1. In a tramway car, the combination with a door and latchmember therefor, of means for "operating said latch member comprising adelay mechanism, said mechanism including an actuating arm, an actuatingdisk and interconnecting means between said arm and disk for rotatingsaiddisk in response to rotation of said arm after a predetermined lapseof time after movement of said arm, said interconnecting means includingaspring fluid check mechanism, aratcheted sleeve slowly rotatableinopposite direction to the actuated rotation of said arm, and dogscarried by said disk for engagement with the ratchets of said sleeve forrotating said disk upon slow rotation of said sleeve.

2. In a tramway car, the combination with a door and latch membertherefor, of means for operating said latch member comprising a delaymechanism, said mechanism including an actuating arm, an actuating diskand interconnecting means between said arm and disk for rotating saiddisk in response to rotation of said arm after a predetermined lapse oftime after movement of said arm, said interconnecting means including aspring fluid check mechanism, a ratcheted sleeve slowly rotatable inopposite direction to'the actuated rotation of said arm, and dogscarried by said disk for engagement with the ratchets of said sleeve forrotating said disk upon slow rotation of said sleeve, said dogs beingarranged to permit fast rotation of said sleeve in one direction withrespect to said disk.

3. An aerial tramway system including a bucket having a door, a latchfor locking said door in closed relation, supporting and propellingcables for said bucket, an actuating mechanism and a support for thesame, a latch tripper mechanism carried by said bucket for releasingsaid latch at a predetermined distance past the actuating mechanism,said tripper mechanism including an arm movable by passage of saidbucket past said actuating mechanism, and a cable actuated by said armfor releasing said latch, and dash pot means for controlling movement ofsaid cable after movement of said arm, a disk operatively connectedwiththe dashpot means and movable in one direction by movement of saidarm and movable with respect to said arm in the opposite direction.

4. An aerial tramway system including a bucket having a door, a latchfor locking said door in closed relation, supporting and propellingcables for said bucket, an actuating mechanism and a support for thesame, a latch tripper mechanism carried by said bucket for releasingsaid latch at a predetermined distance past the actuating mechanism,said tripper mechanism including an arm movable by passage of saidbucket past said actuating mechanism, and a cable actuated by said armfor releasing said latch, and dash pot means for controlling themovement of said cable after movement of said arm, a disk operativelyconnected with the dash pot means and movablein one direction bymovement of said arm and movable with respect to said arm in theopposite direction, said arm being associated for movement with aratcheted sleeve, said ratcheted sleeve and arm being restrained againstmovementzin one direction'by said dash pot means.

5. An aerial tramway bucket latch tripper includinga casing, a springand dash pot assembly within said casing, an externally ratcheted sleeveassociated with said spring and dash'pot assembly, an actuating armcar.- ried by said sleeve and movable by a stationary trippermember, aplate bearing dogs e11- gageable with the, ratchets of said sleeveforrotating said.- plate with said sleeve in-one direction and a latchactuating cable eccentrically mounted on said plate for releasing thelatch upon rotation of said plate with said sleeve, the direction ofrotation ofsaid sleeve for actuating said plate being restrained by saidspring and dash pot assembly.

6. In a "tramway car having normally locked latch means releasable todischarge the contentsofthe car; a mechanism for releasing ;said latchmeans including a trip located at a fixed point alongside the tramway,-a member carried by the car operable when. moved in one direction torelease the latch means, a device carried by the car having an armadapted to be engaged and moved in one directionby the trip as the carpasses the, same and means rendered effective by the return movement, ofthe arm to couple and move the member in a direction to release thelatch. I

7. In a tramway car having normally locked latch meansreleasable todischarge the contents of the car; a mechanism for releasing, said latchmeans including a trip located at a fixed point alongside the tram way,a member carried by, the car operable when moved in one direction torelease the latch. means, a device carried by the car having an armadapted to be engaged and moved in one direction by the trip as the carpasses I the same and means rendered effective by the return movement ofthe arm to couple and move the member in a direction to release thelatch, said device including means adjustable to vary the speed of thereturn movement of the arm whereby to regulate the point of discharge ofthe car contents relative to said trip.

8; In a tramway car having normally locked latch means releasabletodischarge the contents of the car; a mechanism for re leasing said latchmeans including a trip located at a fixed point alongside the tramway, arotary member carried by the car operable when turned in one directiontorelease the latch means, a device carried by the car having a swingablearm adapted to be engaged and swung in one direction by the tripasthecar 'passes the same and means fil rendered effective by the returnswing of the arm to couple and turn said member in a direction torelease the latch.

9. In a tramway car having normally locked latch means releasable todischarge the contents of the car; a mechanism for releasing sa-id latchmeans including a trip located at a fixed point alongside the tramway, arotary member carried by the car operable when turned in one directionto release the latch means, a device carried by the car having aswingable .arm adapted to be engaged and swung in one direction by thetrip as the car passes the same and means render-ed effective by thereturn swing of the arm to couple and turn said member in a direction torelease the latch, said device including means adjustable to vary thespeed of the return movement of the arm whereby to regulate the point ofdischarge of the car contents relative to the trip.

10. In a tramway car having normally locked latch means releasable todischarge the contents of the car; mechanism for releasing said latchmeans including a trip located at a fixed point alongside said tramway,a device carried by the car having an arm adapted to be engaged by andmoved in one direction by said trip as the car passes the same, saiddevice including means for placing the arm under tension when so movedby the trip and means adjustable for varying the speed of the returnmovement of the arm, a member operatively connected with the latch meansand operable when moved in one direction to release the same and meansrendered effective by the return movement of the arm to couple saidmember therewith for movement of the same in a direction to effect-therelease of the latch means.

11. 'In a tramway car having normally locked latch means releasable todischarge the contents of the car; mechanism for releasing said latchmeans including a device on the car having a swingable actuating arm, atrip located at a fixed point along the tramway andada'pted to engagewith'and deflect the actuator arm, a member operable when moved in onedirection to release the latch and means rendered effective by thereturn movementof the actuator arm after leaving the trip, for couplingsaid member there- With.

12. The combination with an aerial tramway car 11 avingnormally lockedlatch means releasable to discharge the contents of the car; mechanismfor releasing said latch means including a device carried by said carhaving a rotatory shaft provided with a radial arm which is placed undertension when moved in one direction and means for retarding the movementof the shaft and armiin the opposite direction, a member con- 'neetedwith the latch for moving the same 'EARLE eiuoaeeu.

